Contextual information

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and products provide contextual information for communications. A call, for example, is processed from an origination address to a destination address. A query is made for a brand of device associated with the origination address making the call. The brand of device is announced during the call.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/687,068, filed Nov. 28, 2012, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/184,588, filed Jun. 28, 2002 nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,341,018, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/966,703, filed on Sep. 28, 2001 nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,313,617. Each of the aforementioned patent(s)and application(s) is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS

The inventions relate to the provision of information on communicationdevices and services.

BACKGROUND

New products and services are brought to the attention of potentialusers through myriad types of advertising. Recent developments indigital and broadband distribution technologies have enabled targetedcontextual advertisement. For example, while viewing a television show,a viewer may request information regarding a star's wardrobe and beprovided with retail or other information. The information generally isprovided quickly in response to the user's request. By receivinginformation at a time when the viewer's interest in the particular itemis heightened (such as at the time of the request), the viewer is morelikely to register the “in-context” marketing information than at othertimes. Importantly, the viewer is more likely to buy or take otheraction when information is provided at the time the viewer's interest isheightened. Accordingly, targeted contextual advertisement can be veryeffective.

Advertising, of course, is the vehicle for bringing new communicationdevices and services to the attention of potential users. Recenttechnological advances have made communication devices ubiquitous withdifferent devices satisfying different aspects of the communicationneeds of a user. For example, a business person may communicate bytelephone, a wireless unit, a voicemail system, a pager, an intelligent(“i”) pager, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a facsimile machine.In addition, the business person may communicate electronically usingthe aforementioned devices and/or a computer through the use of e-mails,instant messages, chat room discussions, and the like.

Generally, communication devices and services are marketed usingconventional advertising techniques. For example, a new or improvedcommunication device or service may be advertised on billboards, innewspapers, on flyers, banners, posters, in commercials on the radio andtelevision, and even on hot air balloons and dirigibles (“blimps”).Further, a new or improved communication device or service may beadvertised through the use of sponsorships such as product ortrademark/service mark placement at entertainment, sports, and otherevents.

The conventional advertising of communication devices and services maybe characterized as a shotgun approach to marketing. A lot ofadvertising of communication devices and services is conducted so as toreach a broad audience and hopefully turn at least some members of theaudience into customers. Conventional advertising may succeed ingrabbing the attention of some potential customers, but grabbing theattention of “some” potential customers generally is not enough.Consumers are inundated with so much marketing information that oftenthey become inured to advertising. In other words, consumers may notalways “see” or give their attention to conventional advertising. Thus,conventional advertising may miss getting the word out to potentialcustomers.

Further, even if a potential customer pays attention to the conventionaladvertising of communication devices and services, the advertising maycross the potential customer's attention span at the wrong time or wrongplace. A potential customer driving in an automobile who reads abillboard regarding a new communication service may have his or herinterest piqued. But the message delivered by the billboard may havebeen forgotten or superceded by a competitor's message by the time thepotential customer is in a position to act.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method or system to deliverinformation regarding communication devices and services that isdirected to the appropriate target audience, that is brought to theattention of the members of the target audience, that is delivered at anappropriate time and place, and that allows a potential customer to acton the information before forgetting the information or having theinformation superceded by other information.

A solution to the above stated need is targeted contextual advertisementof the communication devices and services. As noted above, targetedcontextual advertisement is the provision of information at a time andin a context when the target's interest is heightened. Such advertisingis more likely to gain the attention of the target, and as a result, thetarget is more likely to buy or take action based on the advertisedinformation.

But the implementation of targeted contextual advertising forcommunication devices and services heretofore has been problematic. Howdoes advertising target potential customers of communication devices andservices in a contextual manner? Is a user of a communication device tobe sent commercial information to be listened to or to be read from theface plate of the device? Will the delivery of such information beappropriately targeted? Will the delivery of such information beappropriately timed? Will the user pay attention to the information?Will the user act on the information? Or will the information beconsidered intrusive or annoying by the user or otherwise cause the userto have negative associations with the advertised communication deviceor service?

In sum, there is a need for a method or system that implements targetedcontextual advertisement of communication devices and services. Further,there is a need for a method or system that implements targetedcontextual advertisement of communication devices and services so theinformation is delivered in an appropriate contextual manner.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems are described regarding the presentation to a userof contextual information relating to a communication directed to theuser. The contextual information may relate to a communication deviceand/or a communication service being used in connection with thecommunication. Advantageously, the contextual information is provided tothe user at a time when the user's interest may be heightened as aresult of the communication. As a result, the likelihood of the user'srecall of the contextual information or of the user's acting on thecontextual information is increased.

More specifically, profile information relating to a user is stored by acommunications manager. The profile information may include descriptionsof the communication devices and/or communication services used by theuser. The communications manager may receive data about communicationsdirected to the user. Data about a communication for the user may bereceived from a telecommunications manager in a telecommunicationsnetwork or from a gateway in a data network. The data may includeinformation about the communication device originating the communicationand/or information about the communication service(s) involved with thecommunication.

A comparison is made between the profile information about the user andthe data about the communication. Based on the comparison, contextualinformation relating to the communication is presented to the user. Thecontextual information may be presented to the user before, during, orafter the user participates in the communication. The user may save thecontextual information for review at a later time.

In particular, the contextual information presented to the user mayrefer to a communication device and/or communication service used in thecommunication. For example, the contextual information may inform theuser of the type of communication device and/or service being used bythe originating party.

The contextual information may relate to a discrepancy between theprofile information relating to the user and the originatingcommunication device and/or communication service. The contextualinformation presented to the user may include information relating tothe discrepancy. As an example, the user may not have a wireless unit.The communication for the user may have originated from a wireless unit.Thus, the contextual information presented to the user may includeadvertising, technical, or other information relating to wireless units.

Once the user is presented with contextual information, the user may beoffered additional contextual information. To further the examplediscussed above, once the user is presented with the contextualinformation about wireless units in general, the user may request and bepresented with more particular information about a specific wirelessunit or brand of unit. The more particular information may be presentedto the user through a connection to a web site in a data network wherethe web site has the particular information about the specific wirelessunit or brand of unit.

Further, the contextual information and the additional contextualinformation may be obtained from the communication manager, from atelecom manager in a telecommunications network, or from a gateway in adata network. Advantageously, a service provider or other entity thatcontrols the content of the contextual information may have exclusivemarketing access to the user and may be presented with such access at atime when the user's interest is heightened.

In sum, the inventions described herein allow for the targetedcontextual advertisement of communication devices and services. Further,the inventions implement the targeted contextual advertisement ofcommunication devices and services so the information is delivered in anappropriate contextual manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary operating environment of the presentinventions.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of exemplary profile information relating to auser.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary environment in which the presentinventions may provide contextual information.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating exemplary actions ofthe present inventions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Stated generally, the inventions provide contextual informationregarding communication devices or services. For example, a user mayreceive a call from a friend who is using a wireless unit. The user maynot have or use a wireless unit. While the user is engaged in the callwith the friend or afterwards, the user may be provided with contextualinformation relating to the wireless unit used by the friend. Thecontextual information may contain advertising or other informationrelating to the wireless unit. Advantageously, the contextualinformation regarding the wireless unit is provided to the user at atime when the user's interest in the wireless unit may be heightened asa result of the communication from the friend's wireless unit. As aresult, the likelihood of the user's purchase of a similar wireless unitis heightened.

In addition to the inventions described herein, additional inventionsrelating to the presentation of contextual information are described inthe commonly owned patent application entitled Methods and Systems forProviding Contextual Information, filed concurrently with thisapplication in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and whichis incorporated herein by reference.

The present inventions may be implemented through the use of acommunications manager. In a related patent application, an exemplarycommunications and information resource (CIR) manager is described. SeeU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/966,703, entitled “Methods andSystems for a Communications and Information Resource Manager,” filedSep. 28, 2001, which is incorporated herein by this reference. The CIRmanager may be used to implement the inventions described in thisapplication. Prior to describing the present inventions, some backgroundabout the CIR manager is provided.

The CIR Manager

A CIR manager may function as a “super” manager with respect to thecommunication devices, services, and systems of a user. In particular,the CIR manager may be used to centralize communications activities andinformation such that the user does not have to (but may) use multiplecommunications devices. For example, the CIR manager may be used to keepa log of all types of communications related to the user—whatever thedevice, whatever the service, whatever the network.

An advantage of the CIR manager is the user does not have to check oruse each type of device for its own type of messages. Another advantageis the CIR manager may obtain information from resources including thirdparty resources so as to facilitate communications and informationgathering activities of the user. With the CIR manager, the user isprovided with a centralized, efficient, and user-friendly way to handlecommunications activities including ways to receive, view, listen to,play, respond to, store, log, monitor, delete, copy, forward, obtain,create, and to take other actions. Moreover, the CIR manager providesthe user with personalized management of communications and informationresources.

In addition, in managing the communications and information resources ofthe user, the CIR manager may provide the user with one or more of thefollowing features and advantages:

-   -   Recognition of the user and of others as authorized by the user;    -   Remembrance and implementation of authorized users' preferences;    -   Aid in finding information and resources;    -   Information related to the authorized users' activities and        communications including call management and detail;    -   Service set-ups, configurations, changes, deletions, additions,        updates, and synchronizations;    -   Maintenance of user account and preference information, logs,        activity logs, schedules, calendars, general directories,        personal directories, and the like;    -   Unified messaging including notice to the user relating to        communications and/or other actions; and    -   Contextual information, other information, suggestions, help,        updates, reminders, warnings, alerts, and other comments.        The CIR manager may integrate the features described above        pursuant to a user's preferences so as to provide efficient,        organized, and user-friendly communications and information        resource management.

Even though the inventions are described herein by reference to a CIRmanager installed in a personal computer (PC), the inventions may bepracticed with another manager, and/or other computer systemconfigurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor based or programmable consumer electronics,mini-computers, mainframe computers, etc.

Exemplary Operating Environment—FIG. 1

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary operating environment 100 of the presentinventions. A user 102 may use a variety of communication devicesincluding: a facsimile machine (fax) 104 a; a telephone 104 b; awireless unit 104 c; or a pager or i-pager 104 d. The user 102 also maymake use of a variety of communication services and be assigned or usefunctionalities relating to those services. As examples, a user may use:a voice mail system and be assigned a voicemail box 105 a; an electronicmail (e-mail or email) system and be assigned an email box (or address)105 b; an instant message system and be assigned an instant message box(or address) 105 b; a chat room system and be assigned a chat room (orchat room identity) 105 d; or a data network (or web) system and have aweb site 105 e.

The user's communication devices and services may be managed by acommunications manager such as the exemplary CIR manager 106 (describedabove). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the CIR manager 106 is used with theuser's personal computer (PC) 108 and may be directly and/orfunctionally connected to the user's communication devices and services.

Exemplary functions of a CIR manager 106 are described above. To providethese functions and others, the CIR manager 106 may interact with avariety of systems, networks, and elements that may be directlyconnected to the CIR manager 106, may be hosted by the same host(s) asthe CIR manager 106, may be functionally connected to the CIR manager106, and/or may be accessible to the CIR manager 106 either directlyand/or through other systems, networks, and/or elements.

The CIR manager 106 may communicate through the PC 108 with anothercomputer(s) (not illustrated) connected or otherwise networked with thePC 108. The CIR manager 106 also may communicate with and/or through adata network such as a wired or wireless internet 112 with thefollowing:

-   -   Other computer(s) (not illustrated);    -   An administrative center (not illustrated);    -   An information resource such as a database (not illustrated);    -   A gateway 114 serving the CIR manager 106;    -   A voicemail system 116;    -   A messaging system such as an email system 118;    -   An instant messaging (message) system 120;    -   A chat room system 122;    -   A web site(s) or web system(s) 124; and    -   A telecommunications network (wired and/or wireless) such as the        public switched telephone network (PSTN) 130.

In addition, the CIR manager 106 may communicate through the PSTN 130with the following:

-   -   A telephone (not illustrated);    -   A wireless unit (not illustrated);    -   A pager or an i-pager (not illustrated);    -   A facsimile device (not illustrated);    -   A personal digital assistant (not illustrated); and    -   A telecommunications manager 132.

Of course, besides the connections illustrated in FIG. 1, the CIRmanager 10 may have access to other computers through local areanetworks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct connections and otherdial-up networks.

As noted generally above, the CIR manager 106 may have access throughthe PC 108 to a data network such as a global communications networklike the Internet and through the Internet 26 to other units, networks,and systems. Particularly, the CIR manager 106 may communicate with agateway 114 connected to or operating on the Internet. The gateway 114may be a service platform, or other device. The gateway 114 may beprovided by the service provider of the CIR manager 106, and may servethe CIR manager 106. Communication activities to and from the CIRmanager 106 on the PC 108 may be directed to the gateway 114 and/or maypass through the gateway 114 to other systems, networks, and/orelements. In passing through the gateway 114, the communicationactivities may be facilitated by the gateway 114.

The gateway 114 may facilitate communications activities of the CIRmanager 106 so as to function as a router or director of communicationsand messages. For example, the CIR manager 106 may forward a request fordata to the gateway 114. The gateway 114 may determine the data may beobtained from an information resource (not illustrated). The gateway 114then forwards the request for data or the appropriate message to theinformation resource. The information resource may respond to the CIRmanager 106 or to the gateway 114, which then communicates with the CIRmanager 106.

Further, the gateway 28 may facilitate communications activities betweenthe CIR manager 106 and the PSTN 130, and other elements reached throughthe PSTN 130 such as the telecom manager 132. Generally, the telecommanager 132 provides general functions and features related tocommunications of a user. Specifically, the telecom manager 132 may beimplemented in a computer, on a service platform, in a network node, orother device. The telecom manager 132 may include connections to devicesand networks through integrated services digital network (ISDN) linesand signaling system 7 (SS7) data links. The telecom manager 132 may becapable of functions similar to those of a service switching point (SSP)or service node (SN) of an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). Forexample, the telecom manager 132 may have the following capabilities:signaling, call set-up, routing, and access to databases.

Exemplary Operation of the Present Inventions

Profile Information—FIG. 2

To provide a user with contextual information, the present inventionsstore profile information about the user. Profile information about theuser's communicating partners also may be stored. FIG. 2 illustrates inblock diagram form the profile information 202 that may be stored aboutuser 102. Similar profile information may be stored about the user'scommunicating partners. In the exemplary embodiments, the profileinformation 202 is collected and stored by the CIR manager 106.

Referring to FIG. 2, the profile information 202 for the user 102 mayinclude, among other things, a list of the communication devices andservices used by the user. In this example, the user has threecommunication devices: a telephone 204; a wireless unit 206; and acomputer (PC) 208. Each of the entries for the devices may include adescription of the respective device. For example, the telephone 204 isdescribed as Brand X. The wireless unit 206 is described as a Motorolaunit. The computer 208 is described as a Dell unit. The number ofdevices and the descriptions of the devices described herein are minimalas they are examples only. Other devices may be included. Generally, thedescription of a device includes as much information as necessary to beuseful in the comparison process described below. For example, thedescription of a wireless unit may include its brand, trademark, type,and operating specifications, functions, and features.

Also in this example, the user makes use of four communication services.Each service is included in the profile information relating to the userand associated with the appropriate device. Further, each of theservices is described in the profile information. As FIG. 2 illustrates,the telephone 204 is associated with local (communication) service 210from BellSouth and long distance service 212 from AT&T. The wirelessunit 206 is associated with service 214 from Cingular. The computer 208is associated with e-mail service 216 from Microsoft. The number ofservices and the descriptions of the services described herein areminimal as they are examples only. Other services may be included. Aswith the communication devices, the description of a communicationservice in the profile information includes as much information asnecessary to be useful in the comparison process described below. Forexample, the description of a long distance service may identify theservice provider and operating specifications, functions and features.

The CIR manager 106 may be provided with data to include in the profileinformation about the user and about communicating partners.Alternatively, the CIR manager 106 may monitor the user'scommunications, and be provided with or obtain data to be included inthe profile information.

For example, assume the user acquires a pager and uses it with the CIRmanager 106. The user supplies the CIR manager 106 with certain datarelating to the pager so the pager may operate with the CIR manager 106.The CIR manager 106 also may be supplied with data relating to the pagerby the manufacturer or other representative of the manufacturer.Further, the CIR manager 106 may be supplied with data relating to thepager by the service provider providing the paging service.Nevertheless, the CIR manager 106 may require or be able to handleadditional data regarding the pager. In some embodiments, the CIRmanager 106 may obtain the data about the pager by contacting aninformation resource (not illustrated) through the gateway 114 over theInternet 112 or through the telecom manager 132 over the PSTN 130. As anexample, such an information resource may be a web site of themanufacturer of the pager or administrative center of the serviceprovider providing the user with the paging service.

Example of Presentation of Contextual Information—FIG. 3

Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplary method of providing a user withcontextual information is described. In this example, a user 302 makesuse of a CIR manager 303 in connection with the user's communications.Assume the user 302 uses a telephone 304 to receive a call from Client A306. In this example, the user 302 does not have a wireless unit. ButClient A 306 uses a wireless unit 308 to make the call to the user. Thecall is routed from the wireless unit 308 through the appropriatenetworks such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) 310, andmay be routed through the telecommunications (telecom) manager 213 inthe PSTN 310 to the telephone 304 of the user 302. The CIR manager 303may be part of the routing of the call, or, as noted below, the CIRmanager 303 may be provided with data about the call.

The data about the call that the CIR manager 303 may receive mayinclude:

-   -   Type of call or communication, e.g., wireline call, wireless        call, facsimile (fax) communication, page, i-page, e-mail        message, chat room message, instant message, or other        communication;    -   Type of communication device originating the call or        communication, e.g., telephone, wireless unit, fax machine,        pager, i-pager, personal computer, or other device; and    -   Information about the communication device, e.g., brand name,        features, functions, specifications, features, or other        information.

In addition, the CIR manager 303 may receive other data relating to thecall or communication such as the originating telephone, wireless, orfacsimile number, originator (such as caller) identificationinformation, originating electronic mail address or identification, orother data.

Referring to the example presented in connection with FIG. 3, assume theCIR manager 303 is presented with the following data about the call fromClient A 306:

-   -   The call is from a wireless unit;    -   The type of the wireless unit is a Brand X unit;    -   The time sensitivity of the call; and    -   The wireless unit operates per the IS-41 protocols.

The CIR manager 303 may receive the data about the call from the telecommanager 312 or otherwise. In the case of a communication received fromor in connection with a data network, the CIR manager 303 may receivethe data about the communication from the gateway in the data network.The receipt of the data by the CIR manager 303 may be the result of theCIR manager's efforts to obtain data about the call or communication.For example, the CIR manager may contact the telecom manager 312 orother entity for the data about the call. As another example, the CIRmanager may contact the gateway in the data network for data about acommunication. As another example, the CIR manager 303 may use a networkaddress associated with the call or the communication to take action toreceive the data. As yet another example, the CIR manager 303 may beprovided with an address so as to take action to receive the data.

The CIR manager compares the data about the communication with profileinformation stored about the user. For example, the CIR manager 303 maycompare the type of communication device/service originating the callagainst the type of device(s)/service included in the profileinformation of the user. Based on the comparison, the CIR manager 303may present the user with contextual information that includes specificsabout the originating communicating device or service. By way ofexample, the comparison may find that the caller uses the same type ofdevice/service as the user. The user then may be presented withcontextual information such as the following: “The caller is Dale Malik.Same as you, he uses an Acme brand wireless unit and his serviceprovider is Beverly Communication Services.” The contextual informationalso may provide the user with an option(s) of responding to orreturning the call or communication by communication paths that areselected based on the data about the call.

The comparison process may look for a discrepancy between the data aboutthe communication and the profile information stored about the user. Adiscrepancy also may be characterized as a difference or gap ininformation. As noted, in the example presented in connection with FIG.3, the user 302 does not have a wireless unit. The CIR manager 303reaches this conclusion based on its comparison of the data about thecall and the profile information about the user 302 and finding thediscrepancy of the user not having a wireless unit.

Having determined the user 302 does not have a wireless unit, the CIRmanager 303 may take action on this result of the comparison between theprofile information of the user and the data about the call. As noted,an action the CIR manager 303 may take is to present contextualinformation relating to the call. The CIR manager 303 may have suchcontextual information or may have to obtain contextual informationrelating to the call. Contextual information may be almost anyinformation relating to the call or communication and communicationdevice or communication service associated with the call orcommunication. Contextual information may include advertising,marketing, technical, sales, service, safety, or quality information,etc. In addition, contextual information may relate to communicationpaths and possible alternative communication paths between theoriginating communicator and the user.

Referring to the example presented in connection with FIG. 3, the CIRmanager 303 determines the user 302 does not have a wireless unit basedon a comparison of the data about the communication and the profileinformation relating to the user. The CIR manager 303 may have or mayhave to act to obtain information about a wireless unit(s) and wirelessservice and may present the wireless unit and service information ascontextual information to the user 302. For example, the CIR manager 303may contact the telecom manager 312 and obtain information aboutwireless units that may be appropriate for the user 302.

The CIR manager 303 and the telecom manager 312 may be associated with aparticular service provider that also provides services and/or provideswireless units. Thus, the user 302 may be provided with contextualinformation including information on wireless units and wireless serviceas available from the particular service provider. Advantageously, thecontextual information provided to the user 302 on wireless units andwireless service may laud the products and services of the particularservice provider already providing the user with the CIR manager 303 andrelated service. Thus, the particular service provider has anopportunity to advertise market, and hopefully, to provide additionalproducts and services to the user. The advertising opportunity may beunique to the particular service provider. For example, the informationfrom the particular service provider may be the only contextualinformation provided to the user in connection with the call from ClientA.

Another advantage of the present inventions is that the contextualinformation is presented to the user at a time when the user's interestin the subject matter may be heightened (i.e., at the time of receipt ofa call made from a wireless unit). Thus, the contextual information mayserve as very effective advertising.

As an alternative to the particular service provider, the CIR manager303 may request and receive information to be presented to the user ascontextual information from another source. For example, the CIR manager303 may contact a gateway in a data network for relevant information.The gateway may route the request to or make its own request of aninformation source. The information source may be a website, database,administrative center, etc. including information on wireless units andservice. Of course, the CIR manager 303 may launch multiple queries orrequests to and/or through the PSTN 310 or data networks (such as theInternet) for information to be included and presented as contextualinformation to the user.

As noted in the background, advertising or other information that ispresented to a user when the user's interest is heightened is generallymore effective or more readily remembered than advertising orinformation presented at other times. A user's interest in acommunication device or service may be heightened at times when the useris involved in communications. Advantageously, the present inventionsallow the contextual information described above to be presented to theuser at various times in connection with a communication. For example,as described in further detail in the paragraphs below, the user may bepresented with contextual information before, during, or after thecommunication. Moreover, the contextual information may be presented onor through a communication device the user is using for thecommunication, but the contextual information may be presented on orthrough another communication device.

Contextual information may be provided to the user when the user isinitially presented with the communication or with the data orinformation about the communication. For example, the user may receivenotice of Client A′s call from the CIR manager. The CIR manager mayprovide such notice to the user as a message appearing on the user'scomputer. In addition to the message about the call, the CIR manager maypresent the contextual information so it appears on the user's PC.Optionally, the CIR manager may present a short message (such as aballoon of information) that contextual information is available. If theuser exercises the option (by double-clicking on the balloon orotherwise), then the contextual information may be presented.

As another example, the user may receive a call on his or her wirelessunit. Prior to the call being connected to the wireless unit, the CIRmanager may cause the contextual information to be presented to the userin the form of a voice message. Alternatively, the CIR manager maysignal the user when the call is connected to the wireless unit with thesignal indicating that contextual information is available. The user maychoose to listen to or otherwise review the contextual information priorto taking the call.

Similarly, the contextual information may be provided to the user whenthe user is engaged in the communication. While the user iscommunicating with Client A on the telephone, for example, the CIRmanager may present contextual information on the user's PC. As anotherexample, if the user receives a fax, the CIR manager may causecontextual information to be included in or with the fax.

Further, the contextual information may be provided to the user afterthe user finishes with the communication. For example, the user may usea telephone to speak with a friend. Before, during, or after thecommunication, the user may hear a signal (such as three beeps orotherwise) to indicate contextual information is available. When theuser finishes the conversation, the user may hook flash the telephone orotherwise take action to access the contextual information. In thisexample, the contextual information may be provided by the CIR manageras a voice message.

In some embodiments, the user may cause the contextual information to besaved for review at a later time. For example, the user may hear asignal when he or she picks up a wireless call with the signalindicating the availability of contextual information. The user maydesire to review the contextual information at a later time. The usermay save the contextual information for later review by providing aresponsive signal. Further, the user may provide an indication regardingthe format in which the contextual information is to be saved. Referringto the example, in response to hearing the signal indicating theavailability of contextual information, the user may provide aresponsive signal. The user then may hear a list of options regardingthe presentation of the contextual information including:

-   -   “to play contextual information now, press ‘1’”;    -   “to play contextual information at the end of this call, press        ‘2’”;    -   “to save contextual information to your PC, press ‘3’”;    -   “to e-mail the contextual information, press ‘4’”;    -   “to fax me the contextual information, press ‘5’”        Advantageously, the user is provided with notice of the        availability of the contextual information and may determine a        format for the review of the contextual information at another        time.

Flow Chart of an Exemplary Presentation of Contextual Information—FIG. 5

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for thepresentation of contextual information. For this exemplary process,assume a Client A is using a wireless device to call the user. The useris notified of the call by an announcement or by a message appearing onhis or her computer screen. In addition to the basic information aboutthe call from Client A, in action 402, the process presents the userwith information that Client A is using a wireless device. In action404, the user is asked whether he or she would like “more” information,i.e., contextual information. If there is no response from the user,then the process may continue to query the user for a response asillustrated in FIG. 4, or the process may time out. Alternatively, thedefault for failing to respond to the query of action 404 may be topresent contextual information.

In response to the query of action 404, the user may decline the offerof contextual information. If so, then in action 406 the screen may becleared of information other than that related to the notificationregarding the call. For example, the prompts and/or questions referencedabove may be cleared. The process then ends in action 408.

If the user accepts the offer of more information (contextualinformation), then in action 408 more information is provided. Examplesof contextual information that may be provided are set out in adjunctactions 412-418. For example, in action 412 the CIR manager may launchto a web page or side including information about the wireless device.

As another example, the CIR manager periodically may receive specialadvertising, marketing, technical, or other information. The informationmay be received from or through the telecom manager in the PSTN or fromor through the gateway in a data network. Specifically, a serviceprovider periodically may send information to the CIR manager. Thisinformation may be stored by the CIR manager until an appropriate timeor opportunity arises when the CIR manager may present the informationas contextual information to the user. As action 414 illustrates, suchcontextual information may include “specials” such as free offers,discounts, early bird specials, etc. Advantageously, by this process,the user may be kept apprised of a service provider's latest discounts,sales, price breaks, etc.

As yet another example, the CIR manager may be configured to includecertain information about communication devices and services. Thus, inaction 416 the CIR manager may obtain the information from its ownresources and present this information as contextual information.

Another example of the provision of contextual information is based onthe CIR manager's actions in obtaining the information. For example, theCIR manager may query an appropriate information source through thetelecom manager and the PSTN or through the gateway and a data networksuch as the Internet. The CIR manager then may present the informationthe CIR manager obtained as contextual information.

Once the contextual information is presented, the exemplary process endsin action 408. But the interaction between the user and the contextualinformation need not end with such presentation. In exemplaryembodiments, the user may be able to obtain additional or differentcontextual information through a process similar to that describedabove. More particularly, the CIR manager may offer the user additionalcontextual information, and based on a positive response, the CIRmanager may present the additional contextual information. For example,assume the CIR manager presents the user with information on wirelessunits. The user may request additional contextual information relatingto a specific type of wireless unit. The CIR manager may presentadditional information on the specific type of wireless unit such as byconnecting the user to a web site having such information.

The exemplary embodiments of the inventions described herein were chosenand described in order to explain the principles of the inventions andtheir practical applications so as to enable others skilled in the artto utilize the inventions including various embodiments and variousmodifications as are suited to the particular uses contemplated. Theexamples provided herein in the written description or in the drawingsare not intended as limitations of the inventions. Other embodimentswill suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Therefore, thescope of the inventions is to be limited only by the claims below.

1. A method comprising: comparing, using at least one processor, userprofile information for a first user to user profile information for asecond user to identify a discrepancy between the user profileinformation for the first user and the user profile information for thesecond user; and providing, to the second user and based on theidentified discrepancy, contextual information associated with theidentified discrepancy.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingretrieving the contextual information from a remote database.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising storing the retrieved contextualinformation in local storage prior to comparing the user profileinformation for the first user to the user profile information for thesecond user.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifieddiscrepancy comprises a discrepancy between a first communication deviceused by the first user and a second communication device used by thesecond user.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the discrepancy betweenthe first communication device and the second communication devicecomprises a discrepancy in brand, name, device type, features, orfunctions.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified discrepancycomprises a discrepancy between a first communication service used bythe first user and a second communication service used by the seconduser.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first communication serviceand the second communication service are telephone services, wirelessservices, or e-mail services.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: prompting the second user to determine that the second userwishes to access the contextual information; and providing thecontextual information to the second user in response to thedetermination that the second user wishes to access the contextualinformation.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting acommunication between the first user and the second user; and providingthe contextual information to the second user in conjunction with thecommunication.
 10. A method comprising: facilitating, using at least oneprocessor, a communication between a first user using a firstcommunication device and a second user using a second communicationdevice; comparing information about the first communication device usedby the first user to information about the second communication deviceused by the second user to identify a discrepancy between the firstcommunication device and the second communication device; and providing,based on the identified discrepancy, contextual information associatedwith the first communication device to the second user.
 11. The methodof claim 10, further comprising: providing a notification to the seconduser indicating the availability of the contextual information; andreceiving, from the second user, an indication that the second user isinterested in the contextual information.
 12. The method of claim 10,wherein the contextual information comprises promotional contentassociated with the first communication device.
 13. The method of claim10, wherein the identified discrepancy comprises a discrepancy between abrand of the first communication device and a brand of the secondcommunication device.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the identifieddiscrepancy comprises a discrepancy between a type of the firstcommunication device and a type of the second communication device. 15.The method of claim 10, wherein the identified discrepancy comprises adiscrepancy between a feature of the first communication device and afeature of the second communication device.
 16. A method comprising:facilitating, using at least one processor, a communication between afirst user using a first communication service and a second user using asecond communication service; comparing information about the firstcommunication service used by the first user to information about thesecond communication service used by the second user to identify adiscrepancy between the information about the first communicationservice and the information about the second communication service; andproviding, based on the identified discrepancy, contextual informationassociated with the first communication service to the second user. 17.The method of claim 16, further comprising: providing a notification tothe second user indicating the availability of the contextualinformation; and receiving, from the second user, an indication that thesecond user is interested in the contextual information.
 18. The methodof claim 16, wherein the identified discrepancy comprises a discrepancybetween a brand of the first communication service and a brand of thesecond communication service.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein theidentified discrepancy comprises a discrepancy between a type of thefirst communication service and a type of the second communicationservice.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the identified discrepancycomprises a discrepancy between a feature of the first communicationservice and a feature of the second communication service.